Instep-support.



N0. 793,585. PATENTED JUNE 27,1905.

- T. HOLLAND.

INSTEP SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED 1330.28, 1904.

WIT/VEJJ$-' I INVENTOK fidukgfl J M 5-9 5 M Br Patented June 27, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

,THOMAS HOLLAND, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

INSTEP-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 793,585, dated June 27, 1905.

Application filed December 28,1904. Serial No. 238,607.

1 To all whom it may concern.-

Be it. known that I, THOMAS HOLLAND, bootmaker, asubject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland residing at 40 South Audley street, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Instep-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means inconnection with boots and shoes, or inner soles for use in connection with boots and shoes, for supporting the foot, with the object of preventing, improving, or curing pes planus, or flat foot, as described in the specification of Letters Patent No. 579,874, A. D. 1897, granted to me, the object of my present invention being to make such a device so that it constitutes an improved and very elastic support for the foot and is very durable, the parts being so arranged that their resilient action is very elliciently applied in such a manner that the spring parts which move upon each other are not liable to cut through each other or through the parts with which they are combined.

I will describe my present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is an under side perspective view of an inner sole provided with means according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 1 2, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 4:, Fig. 1.

According to my invention I provide an inner sole A, of leather or other suitable material, either fixed in or forming part of the boot or shoe or made as a removable inner sole. The said inner sole A is formed of the proper shape for the sole of the human foot and preferably has a raised part at a, the highest part of which comes underneath the inner and lower part of the junction of the astragalus bone with the heel-bone of the foot, and the part a on the inner side of the waist portion of the said sole A extends in a curve upward toward the ankle-bone or malleolus. To give support to the arch of the foot and press it upward into the proper form, I use two longitudinal spring-plates B B shaped to correspond with the parts of the inner sole with which they'respectively are in contact and preferably made of tempered steel. These longitudinal spring-plates are secured at their outward ends by riveting, as shown at Z) 6 or otherwise to the inner sole respectively at' or about the beginning of the waist at the junction thereof with the forward part of the sole proper of the foot and to the heel part near where the waist joins the heel, the free ends of the said spring-plates overlapping, as shown at 7), at or about the center of the waist of the sole. The said overlapping parts of the said plates are kept in position bya transverse spring-plate or transverse spring-plates, shaped to correspond with the parts of the sole, and longitudinal spring-plates B B with which they come in contact. I preferably use two such transverse plates 0 O of tempered steel, between which the free ends of the longitudinal plates B B are situated, the said transverse spring-plates C O being secured together at one end by the rivet (Z and at the opposite side of the spring-plates B B they are secured together and to the inner sole A by the rivets d d.

Although I have shown the soleA as being a complete sole, it may, if desired, extend only partly over the sole of the boot or shoe and be fixed or temporarily held in place in the boot or shoe win any convenient Way, or be secured to the foot of the wearer, or the device may be made as part of the boot or shoe.

The plates B B C O being between the lining or leather of the inside of the boot 0r shoe and the inner sole A do not irritate the foot, and being shaped and arranged relatively to each other, as described and shown, they do not out each other or the parts which they bear against.

I claim as my invention 1. A device of the proper shape for the under side of the human foot, and consisting of an inner sole having longitudinal spring-plates each secured at one end to the sole and overlapping each other at their free inner ends and a transverse spring-plate secured to the sole, holding said overlapping ends in connection with the sole.

2. A device of the proper shapefor the under side of the human foot, and consisting of an innersolehavinglongitudinal spring-plates specification in the presence of two subscribeach secured at one end to the sole and overing Witnesses.

lapping each other at their free inner ends,

and transverse spring-plates secured to the THOMAb HOLLAND sole, holding said overlapping ends between Witnesses:

them. WILLIAM GERALD REYNOLDS,

In testimony whereof I have signed this GILBERT FLETCHER Tyson. 

